I am an ORISE Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the U.S. Geological Survey Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center and Eastern Ecological Science Center, advised by Drs. Jenn Fair and Ben Letcher. I received a PhD in Ecology and Evolution from the University of Wyoming in 2024, advised by Dr. Annika Walters in the USGS Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. I also hold a BSc from the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington. Learn more about my background and research journey, below.
My current research uses data from distributed sensor networks to understand fine-scale spatial heterogeneity in streamflow and temperature, how spatial patterns change with interannual variability in drought conditions, and the effects of this dynamic heterogeneity on fish population demography and climate vulnerability. Learn more about my research interests →
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Background
I grew up in Nevada City, California, located in the foothills of the northern Sierra Nevada mountains. I was fortunate to have parents that instilled in me a deep appreciation for the outdoors (and fish!) at an early age. The summers of my childhood were ones of camping trips and lazy days along the South Fork Yuba River, where I spent most of my time watching rainbow trout through a mask and snorkel. My brother and I also spent countless days down at the lake with fishing rods and a can of worms, but we never seemed to catch anything.
Research Journey
I started my undergraduate degree at the University of Washington, Seattle, in 2010. I soon found myself in an introductory fisheries class, where I discovered you could actually get paid to study fish. I then got a technician job with Dr. Daniel Schindler, prepping otoliths for microchemical analysis in addition to conducting other lab and field tasks. This position led to a summer field job with the Alaska Salmon Program, where I assisted with research and monitoring of salmon ecosystems in southwest Alaska. I also completed my capstone research during this first summer with ASP, which explored how juvenile coho salmon track shifting mosaics of temperature and food across river floodplains. This work was done under the supervision of Daniel and Dr. Jonny Armstrong. During my undergraduate I also participated in two field ecology programs, one at UW’s Friday Harbor Laboratories in Friday Harbor, Washington, and the other in Bocas del Toro, Panama, where I studied ontogenetic shifts in habitat use in invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish.
In 2014, I received a B.Sc. in Aquatic and Fishery Sciences from the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington. I continued to work for the Alaska Salmon Program for an additional four years, but now as a Field Biologist at ASP’s Chignik Lakes field station. In this role, I maintained long-term monitoring datasets of coastal salmon ecosystems, coordinated research activities with partner agencies, and helped communicate our science to the commercial and subsistence fishing communities. During the winter of 2016, I completed a short stint as a research technician in central Ecuador, where I assisted with a collaborative project investigating how local adaptation shapes climate vulnerability in stream macroinvertebrate communities. These immersive experiences (Alaska, Ecuador, Panama, and Friday Harbor) provided a strong background in field ecology and profoundly shaped my scientific and conservation ethos.
I moved to Laramie, Wyoming, in 2018 to pursue a graduate degree with Dr. Annika Walters in the USGS Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. I started as a Master’s student investigating the spawning ecology of Yellowstone cutthroat trout in groundwater-fed tributaries to the Snake River near Jackson, Wyoming. I soon bypassed to the PhD track and expanded my research to explore the effect of groundwater on recruitment dynamics and population diversity across the river network. During this time, I got involved with the WyACT project and led efforts to quantify the effects of changing climate and water management on trout population dynamics.
I am currently an ORISE Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center. My research at USGS is focused on spatial heterogeneity in headwater flow regimes, how spatial patterns change with prevailing climate (i.e., drought), and the implications of this dynamic heterogeneity for species vulnerability assessments. Drs. Jenn Fair, Ben Letcher, Clint Muhlfeld, Robert Al-Chokhachy, and Jason Dunham are key collaborators on this work.
For Fun
Like many in our field, I enjoy spending time outside and connecting with the natural world. I fully embody the “master of none” approach to outdoor pursuits and can be found rock climbing, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, or fly fishing on any given weekend. I am fortunate that all of these activities are easily accessible from my current home in Bozeman, Montana. If I’m not outside, you can find me strumming a guitar or enjoying a cold beverage on a patio with friends.